Like the explosion of green we’re seeing on the Plateau with the advent of spring (finally!), Highlands-Cashiers Hospital (HCH) is similarly poised to “blossom” again soon, in exciting ways. No one would deny that we’re living in a time of constant change for the healthcare industry – and I’m grateful that at HCH, we remain successful and continue to serve our patients’ needs through it all.

First, we’ve recently expanded our Cashiers Clinic’s hours in response to the needs of our community. On May 1st, the clinic’s hours of service changed to 7am-7pm, Monday through Friday. Saturday hours will be expanded to 9am-4pm, starting sometime in June. These newly expanded hours mean that community members can get care whenever a health issue arises, like when your child develops a fever overnight, or when a hiker unexpectedly sprains her ankle. Primary care remains the anchor of our practices, with Thomas Lindsay, MD; Thomas Duncan, MD; Rebecca Baker, FNP; and Richard Wayne, PA seeing patients throughout the week.

Change is springing forth in Highlands as well. We’ve welcomed two new primary care providers: Margaret Wadsworth, MD, who focuses her practice on the holistic care of adults, and Robyn Restrepo, MD, who has a special interest in women’s and children’s health. As an added bonus, Dr. Restrepo is fluent in Spanish. The Highlands community will also see their specialty services – both established and new – grow and change. Different specialists will be available to our community at least weekly. For example, massage therapy has recently launched on Mondays, Urology services will start every other week on Tuesdays in July, Cardiology will continue on Wednesdays, and we are hopeful that Gynecology services will return to the Plateau in the fall. To access an updated specialty services calendar at any time, call 828-526-2371.

When I’m out in the community, I consistently hear praise for our rehabilitation therapy program. The good news is that now we’re making it even better. We’re adopting an innovative program for patients suffering from Parkinson’s Disease called Big and Loud. Through it, patients receive BIG therapy, which teaches them to make the bigger movements necessary to move effectively as they perform everyday tasks, while LOUD helps them stimulate their voice box muscles for improved vocalization. The program will help Parkinson’s patients with the physical and social challenges that accompany the disease.

To learn more, plan to attend one of the two Town Hall meetings we’ll host later this month, where I’ll share more news: